The Day the Machines Stopped

Christopher Anvil was the pen name of Harry Christopher Crosby, Jr. (1925 – 2009). Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he served as a U.S. military pilot before launching a career as a prolific science-fiction writer under the Anvil pseudonym. The Day the Machines Stopped from 1964 was his first novel.

The novel begins with two laboratory workers, Brian and Carl, fighting over the same girl in an office love triangle. A newscast on the radio in the background is discussing an ambitious cryogenics project happening in Afghanistan conducted by Soviet scientists. A defector among the scientists is warning the media that these experiments could cause a worldwide failure of all electrical products.

And then poof! The lights go out at the lab. Brian and Carl are dispatched by their boss to see how far the outage stretches and return with a full report of that the men find. In 1964, losing access to your transistor radio was like an internet outage today.

Once outside, Brian and Carl see the extent of the outage. As the book’s cover betrays, everything is out of order — cars, clocks, flashlights, phones — all dead. The laws of nature surely have changed. Human hysteria and lawlessness follow.

The author spends a lot of time (too much, in fact) rationalizing the science behind this science fiction. There are explanations of electron gas that carries a current and hydrometer testing. Most of this can be easily glazed over, so the reader can get to the evolving anarchy.

The journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland has been done a million times in survivalist literature - although this is a fairly early entry in the genre. You have your wandering nomads and warlords turning to analog weapons to gather power. Pretty standard stuff - all very readable.

The Day the Machines Stopped is a decent entry in the post-apocalyptic genre. It’s been done better elsewhere but this short and entertaining paperback is probably worth your time if you have it in your library. Just don’t spend a fortune chasing it down. Get it affordable HERE. 

Conversations - The Book Graveyard

Eric collaborates with Nick from The Book Graveyard channel to review the 1971 gothic paperback The Shadow Guest. They also explore the gothic paperback scene of the 1960s–80s, focusing on its mix of supernatural and mystery elements. The discussion is available as a podcast you can stream below and as a video on The Book Graveyard channel HERE. I encourage you to watch the video version to see book covers and our physical interaction discussing this great novel. 

Listen to "Conversations - The Book Graveyard" on Spreaker.

Paperback Warrior Primer - George Harmon Coxe

New York native George Harmon Coxe (1901-1984) was a journalist, prolific pulp writer, and novelist. He served as the president of the Mystery Writers of America and he won the Grand Master Award. Unfortunately, his name and literary work have drifted into the passages of time and remains largely forgotten. I chronicled his life on a podcast feature HERE. But, I wanted to provide a Paperback Warrior Primer for those of you wanting a text profile. So, let's take a look at George Harmon Coxe.

Coxe (pronounced like “cokes”) was born in New York in 1901. He graduated high school at Elmire Free Academy. He attended Purdue for one year following his graduation and shifted his curriculum from engineering to literature. He also changed schools to Cornell University. For five years, beginning in 1922, he was a journalist for the Los Angeles Express, the Utica Observer Dispatch, and Santa Monica Outlook among others. 

Coxe was an admirer of pulp fiction. While performing his day job in 1922 - at the age of 21 - Coxe authored two stories for Detective Story Magazine. In the 1930s, Coxe began writing for Street & Smith's Top-Notch before contributing to even more pulps like Clues All Star Detective Stories, Dime Mystery Book Magazine, Detective Fiction Weekly, Street & Smith's Complete Stories, Thrilling Detective, and Argosy. He wrote hundreds of stories from 1922 through 1972. 

In 1934, Coxe creates a newspaper photographer named Jack Flashgun Casey. There had been previous pulp appearances of newspaper reporters that worked as amateur detectives to solve crimes. But not a photographer in the role as an amateur detective. The March 1934 issue of Black Mask featured the first Jack Flashgun Casey story, "Return Engagement". Initially, Black Mask editor Joe Shaw had discouraged Coxe from creating a recurring character, but he later admitted that the character was so well constructed that the series soon became a reader favorite. 

There were 24 Flashgun Casey stories that appeared in Black Mask from 1934-1943. The only exception was a story in Star Weekly in 1962. The Black Mask stories were all collected in Flash Casey, Detective published in 1946 as an Avon paperback. In addition to the short stories, there were five novels starring Flashgun Casey between 1942 through 1964. Those were Silent for the Dead, Murder for Two, Error of Judgment, The Man Who Died Too Soon, and Deadly Image. Three of the Casey novels are available as reprints through Mysterious Press in both digital and physical copies HERE.

Additionally, a Here's Flash Casey film was released in 1938 and was adapted from the series of short stories. A well-respected, much-loved radio show was broadcast for years starring the character. Also, between 1951 through 1952 the series was adapted to a TV show titled Crime Photographer and starred Darren McGavin. 

Another pulp character that Coxe created is Paul Baron, a hard-boiled private detective that was assisted by a scrappy side kick named Buck O' Shea. Baron appeared in four stories in Black Mask in 1936. 

The next pulp character that Coxe created was Dr. Paul Standish. This character appeared in ten stories and one novel from 1942 to 1966. The stories appeared in glossy magazines like Cosmopolitan, Liberty, and the American Book Magazine. Standish is described as a medical examiner that delves into mysterious deaths. He is aided by a police lieutenant and a nurse secretary. In July, 1948, CBS ran a short-lived radio broadcast starring the character.  

The Kent Murdoch series is Coxe's most well-known title. Murdoch appeared in two stories in The American Magazine, but flourished in the full-length novels - both hardcover and paperback. The first Murdoch novel was Murder with Pictures, appearing in 1935. 22 more installments of the series followed through 1965. You can get most of these books, if not all, through Mysterious Press as reprints HERE.

In Paperback Confidential, Brian Ritt describes Kent Murdoch as being a smarter version of the Flashgun Casey series. Murdoch has a formal education, he's sophisticated and well-mannered. He's married to a woman named Joyce and they work as a team solving crimes in Boston's upper crust. In the Encyclopedia of Pulp Heroes, Jess Nevins summarizes the character as a photographer for the Boston Courier-Herald. Because he is more intelligent than the police he can solve the crimes. However, many times he has to clear his own name after being accused of being a participant in the crime. Murdoch's wife Joyce plays a prominent role in the first six books and then disappears for the rest of the series. Murdoch also teams up with a hardboiled private-eye in this series named Jack Fenner. This Fenner sidekick would star in his own novels as well. 

Coxe, while succeeding with amateur detective characters, also had an official detective in Sam Crombie. Crombie appeared in two novels, The Frightened Fiancé and The Impetuous Mistress. Coxe's other official detective was Max Hale. He appeared in Murder for the Asking and The Lady is Afraid. Hale is a wealthy New Yorker who attended the State Police Academy and then just doesn't have any motivation to solve crimes. He is sort of roped into crime-solving by his secretary Sue Marshall. 

Coxe also wrote a number of stand-alone crime-fiction novels that were published by a variety of publishers in both hardcover and paperback. In the 1930s, Cox's writing had become so popular that MGM took notice. They employed Coxe between 1936 until 1938 to write screenplays. However, Coxe preferred writing books and stories. Three of Coxe's stories were adapted into films - Women are Trouble, Murder with Pictures, and Here's Flash Casey.

Coxe was elected to the President of the Mystery Writers of America in 1952 and won the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award in 1964. 

In the March 11, 1971 issue of The Island Packet, Eugene Able interviewed Coxe and he had this to say about his literary work and career:

“When you get my age and have written as many book and stories as I have, you have to be careful not to be repetitive. I like to write a book that has a good story with believable characters. If a reader figures out the mystery halfway through the book, I want the story to be good enough and the characters real enough to make them want to finish it. The trickier you get with your ending, the more you sacrifice the story.”

Coxe married Elizabeth Fowler in 1929 and was married to her until his death on January 31, 1984 in Old Lyme, Connecticut. They had two children. 

You can obtain vintage copies of his books HERE.

Fighting Four #02 - The Tunnel Busters

Way back in 2019 I read a novel by British writer Arthur Catherall titled The Strange Intruder. I enjoyed the book immensely and have kept a watchful eye out for the author's work ever since. Unfortunately, despite his accomplishments as a successful young-adult writer, he has gone out of print and out of the public's eye. Thankfully, the power of the internet has produced some scans of a few of his out-of-print books including three of his exciting Fighting Four novels.

Based on the success of W.E. Johns young-adult military heroes, the Biggles, and his subsequent series Gimlet, many authors were hopeful to attract the same consumer base. Like Johns' mid-20th century novels, Catherall established his own team of military heroes, what I refer to as “Team-Commando”, in 1959 titled The Fighting Four. There were five books published between 1959 through 1964 beginning with the series eponymous debut, The Fighting Four. These WW2-fiction novels were published by Children's Press in England using Catherall's pseudonym of A.R. Channel. 

Typically I like to start any series with the debut. Unfortunately, the series starter isn't available to me so I settled for an introduction to the Fighting Four by way of the second installment, The Tunnel Busters, originally published in 1960. 

This 188-page book begins with a fitting introduction to the team members. Sam Foster is the radio communications specialist. China Brown (questionable name) manages the teams firearms and logistics. Curly Bates is the explosives expert. The group is led by all-around fighting man Sergeant Ted Harris. Based on their success in the first book's adventure, which featured a Norwegian locale, the four have been assigned an explosive new mission. 

Hitler has routed supplies for his troops by way of railroad through an underground tunnel from rural France into Italy. Due to the rugged mountaintops, the interior design of the tunnel, and the anti-aircraft defense, British intelligence wants the team to parachute in and detonate explosives within the tunnel. Paramount to the mission's success is working with the rebel French in an isolated village controlled by the Germans.

The Tunnel Busters was a nonstop action sequence permeating with tension. The book's pace kicks off with Sam's spiraling descent away from the team due to a barrage of German gunfire. Miles away, Sam befriends a young shepherd boy and his dog that prove crucial to the mission. From the onset there's a gunfight with Germans, a tense standoff in a nearby village, a rescue attempt, the aforementioned tunnel busting business, and a wild hostage situation that elevated the book's finale into an emotional roller coaster as German leaders are set to execute members of the team. 

Don't be afraid of the “young-adult” aura of this series and its reputation. Despite violent details from the author, it is clear that enemy forces are dying. Granted the team will typically just knock out their opponents or “riddle them with gunfire”, but Catherall's storytelling has a darker overtone at times with talk of torture, firing squads, and threats of mass slaughter. Comparisons are often made to Johns' Gimlet series, which is expected. However, from research online, it suggests that The Fighting Four are more “adult” in nature compared to the Gimlet or Biggles series. 

Despite lukewarm reviews, my sample-size experience with The Fighting Four was exceptional. I thoroughly enjoyed this high-adventure military yarn and would definitely recommend it to men's action-adventure fans of any age. I'll be reading more of these books. You can get them HERE.

Ralph Lindsey #01 - The Venus Death

According to Allan Hubin's 20th Century Crime & Mystery Writers, Benjamin Benson (1915-1959) was born in Boston, educated at Suffolk University Law School, and served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. He earned a Purple Heart, two battle stars, and was seriously wounded and confined to a hospital for three years. While hospitalized, Benson received numerous detective stories to read, which encouraged him to write as a form of therapy. 

Benson's first series character was Inspector Wade Paris, a fictional Detective serving the Massachusetts State Police. The character appeared in Benson's first three novels, Alibi at Dusk (1952), Beware the Pale Horse (1952) and Lily in Her Coffin (1954). But, my first experience with this author is his second character, Trooper Ralph Lindsey. The character debuted  in 1953's The Venus Death, and appeared in at least six further installments. 

Perhaps Benson's therapeutic writing or experience in country living influenced his use of characters in unique settings. Instead of placing his creations in familiar big city locales, Benson chooses the rural small-towns and byways of the rural American Northeast. Like Paris, Lindsey is also employed by the State of Massachusetts as a law enforcer, in this case he's a 23-year old “boot”, meaning a rookie in the State Police.

In the opening pages, Benson introduces Lindsey's brief history in quick one or two-page histories. He is a Korean War veteran, the son of a former State Police Trooper, and he has a routine girl named Ellen. The author invests in Lindsey's father, providing a little backstory on how the man was shot in the back on patrol and now remains paralyzed from the waist down. Because of his career being cut short, Lindsey's father is heavily involved in his son's career. He consistently asks Lindsey about firearms, current cases, his patrol, and is there to prod and poke his son for wearing scuffed shoes or having a shirt unpressed. The old man is a wonderful addition to the story.

While off duty at a bar Lindsey meets a young mysterious girl named Manette. She's new in town, works at the local mill, and desperately wants a man in her life. Lindsey takes her out a couple of times and is surprised one evening when he's called to his superior's office. Manette has been found murdered with a bullet in the brain. The murderer? Lindsey's girlfriend Ellen. Could this be a case of jealous rage?

The Venus Death hooked me from the beginning and really never let up. What's interesting about the setup is that Lindsey is mostly restrained from the murder investigation business. Remember, he's a State Trooper involved in highway crime, stolen cars, that sort of thing. But, his connectivity to both women allows him to team up as an apprentice with the  local detectives, a couple of hard-nosed sleuths named Newpole and Angsman, as well as a State Police Detective-Lieutenant named Granger. There's a lot of pressure placed on Lindsey not only because of the crime but due to his father's legacy – tough shoes to fill. 

Through 211 pages, the investigation digs into Manette's past in Chicago, her former husband, and a couple of seedy gentleman that are in town for what appears to be a big heist. How the police handle the preparation for the bust and work through procedural interviews and evidence examinations was really enjoyable. Comparisons can be made to Hillary Waugh's excellent police procedural series Fred Fellows, complete with the tight-knit mystery aspect and the Northeastern locale of Connecticut, a state where portions of The Venus Death takes place. 

Based on small sample size, this Ralph Lindsey series seems like a winner. Recommended! Get the physical book HERE and the digital ebook HERE.

Uptown Shopping 2

Eric returns to the same store after a successful previous shopping trip, this time picking up more spy fiction, WWII novels, young-adult books, and sharing insights about vintage authors and publishers. Stream below or on the YouTube channel HERE.

Cry, Brother, Cry

Not a lot is known about pulp writer and novelist Jack Karney (1911-?). He worked in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, wrote shorts for magazines like Argosy and Short Stories, and completed at least 11 paperback originals. Most of his literary work concerns juvenile delinquents or boxers struggling with criminality on New York's Lower East Side. In the opening pages of Cry, Brother, Cry, a 1959 Popular Library paperback, there's a note about the author that states Karney was a member of a teenage gang, which is fitting considering that's the subject of the book. 

Two years ago, Joey Koslo was an up-and-coming welterweight boxer. He threw the leather while working his way up to a Final Boss named Ox, a fighter groomed by the Mob to be the next world champ. When Joey refused to take the dive, and beat Ox, the Mob nearly pummeled him to death in an alley. After a lengthy hospital stay, Joey was released and immediately tracked Ox down. After a brutal beating with a cue stick the police arrested Joey for attempted murder. Two years in the pen.

Back home and hoping for a calmer life, Joey attempts to reconnect with his younger brother Duke. But, he realizes a harsh reality when he discovers expensive attire and a pistol in Duke's closet – Duke's involved with the Mob. Joey attempts to persuade Duke, a high school kid, to go clean before it's too late. Joey's positive encouragement helps, but eventually the money is just too darn good to turn down – Duke goes dirty.

Cry, Brother, Cry is saturated in the teen gangster tropes used by mid 20th century crime-fiction authors like Benjamin Appel, Edward S. Aarons, and W.R. Burnett - the cops need informers, the parents urge discipline, and the boys need maturity. But, Karney's writing, while often deadpan grim, brings to the surface a relationship journey for the main character and his prior girlfriend. How they reconnect, long for each other, and battle turbulent forces in their lives is a subplot that nearly surpasses the teen criminality angle. It was such an entertaining part of this violent, touching, and unforgettable novel. Highly recommended. Get it HERE.  

The Bells Are Ringing

We've covered three Jack Karney novels here on Paperback Warrior and we've covered his life and literary work on the podcast. I wanted to experience Karney's short-story writing style, which is steeped in boxing stories and the fighter lifestyle. There's a few scans that float around online and the one I gravitated towards is “The Bells Are Ringing”. It was published in the November 25th, 1947 issue of Short Stories.

The story is presented in a unique and colorful way by weaving the rounds of an exciting boxing bout with the prior events affecting protagonist Rocky Sears before the fight. It is an unusual storytelling method that blends in-ring action, the ticking of the rounds, with a sort of countdown of Rocky's turbulent weeks prior to the opening bell. 

As the story begins, Rocky is in the ring taking hammer blows and shots from the Champ in the Garden. Then the narrative flashes back to the early days of the fight preparation. Readers learn that Rocky's trainer, Pop, is an old-timer on the cusp of retirement. Rocky plans on marrying Pop's daughter Virgie and the two want the old man to live with them once Rocky wins the big money fight. But, there's a wrench stuck in the gears – Rocky's former flame Francine is in town and wants to see him.

The story then fluctuates back and forth between Rocky being pummeled in the ring by the Champ and a broken-heart story concerning Rocky's former lover. It turns out Francine is an actress that left Rocky and New York behind to pursue a film industry in Hollywood. She returned to New York looking for work (read that as Sugar Daddy) after her career fizzled out. She also wants to strike up a relationship with Rocky. She brought along a boy toy though in case things don't work out with Rocky. In a riveting twist, the boy toy has eyes on Virgie. This weird love triangle puts Rocky's match with the Champ in perspective. 

If he wins then Francine will follow the money and want Rocky all for herself, leaving the boy toy to aggressively pursue Virgie, thus affecting Rocky's proposed  marriage and the planned landing spot for the tired old man Pop. 

If he loses, Francine and her boy toy will probably hit the road for action elsewhere, leaving Virgie back with Rocky...and a wedding and house that neither can afford.

Karney can tell a story and “The Bells Are Ringing” was just a remarkable mix of emotions. The comeback from Jack in the ring pairs well with the storytelling aspect of this love triangle and how it develops into a conundrum for all the interested parties. Rocky is a likable character and Pop plays a minor role in terms of dialogue and presence, but in reality is the narrative's most pivotal point. This was a real pleasure to read and deserves a reprint in some fashion. In the meantime you can read the story online HERE or stream below.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 122

In this double-feature episode, Eric investigates the mysterious life and work of crime-fiction and boxing-story writer Jack Karney, while also spotlighting S.S. Rafferty, a regular contributor to Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines. The episode also includes a segment on a non-fiction book about MGM Studios, a look at this summer's conventions, and fiction's first colonial continental op. Stream below, listen on any streaming platform, download HERE, or play on YouTube HERE.

Listen to "Episode 122: Jack Karney & S.S. Rafferty" on Spreaker.

East Indiaman #02 - The Tiger & the Thief

With 150 books of historical fiction, including over 25 series titles, author Griff Hosker has certainly discovered a new life after teaching English and Drama for 35 years. I've sampled his Dragon Heart saga and enjoyed it, but I found his newest title, East Indiaman, the most enjoyable of my experiences thus far. I reviewed and praised the series debut, East Indiaman, published in 2024. I was delighted to discover a second installment had released earlier this year.

In the series debut, set in the late 1700s, Bill Smith is a young thief who avoids capture by becoming a stowaway on a ship. Through first-person perspective, Bill tells of his life at sea and his transition from unruly criminal to an admirable shipmate. He eventually finds himself in a type of special-forces commando unit serving the British empire in the East Indies. It's a type of Dirty Dozen force that completes challenging tasks that the official British Army can't perform for fear of community hostilities. Think of a 1700s S.O.B.s.

In this book, The Tiger & the Thief, it is 1799 and Smith is involved in the Siege of Seringapatam (real thing). In the book's opening adventure, Smith alone must break into a fortified compound, meet with an informer and determine the best time for the British forces to siege the place. But, he is quickly captured, interrogated, and must find a way to escape.

After this adventure the book dives into one adventure after another like a video game where Smith hops from checkpoint to checkpoint clicking off tasks. Typically these missions involve transporting various things or people across hundreds of miles of dense uninhabitable foliage or quelling various uprisings that distract the British (and French) forces. There's a bit of peacekeeping involved that made the action sequences less lethal.

Overall, The Tiger & the Thief was okay but it failed to deliver the same enjoyment as the predecessor. The rhythmic formula of jumping from task to task became a boring exercise with few surprises. The predictability and lethargic pace (at 240 pages) bogged this installment down. It is debatable on whether I'll continue on with the series. Lukewarm recommendation. Get it HERE.

52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels

Paul Bishop is a 35-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. He's authored 15 novels and numerous scripts for TV and feature films. He co-hosted the excellent award-winning podcast Six-Gun Justice alongside fellow scribe Richard Prosch and currently serves as an acquisitions editor for Wolfpack Publishing. 

His newest endeavor is based on his childhood hero and literary influence, the great Sherlock Holmes. Bishop, born in England, came to the U.S. with a copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to accompany him on his voyage. Over the years, Bishop has consistently been passionate about the Sherlockian society, from television show and film fandom to all the various nuances of this character's flavorful pop-culture. To celebrate his love for the eternal sleuth, Bishop has compiled a comprehensive collection of essays and reviews celebrating Sherlock Holmes pastiche fiction, 52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels (Genius Publishing). 

It is said that a staggering 25,000 documented works starring Holmes (written by authors outside of character creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) are in existence. Collecting 52 scholarly essays and expert commentary about these works is a large undertaking, but thankfully Bishop was able to edit and accomplish this task in a fun and desirable way. This book, available in both print (400+ pages) and digital (300+), contains a “coffee table” approach allowing readers and fans to simply dive in and out of these high-quality critiques.  

The book is strategically organized into five separate parts that ultimately begins with Bishop's self-reflective "Introduction" and insightful "A Word About Sherlockian Pastiches". In no particular order, each essay is presented with the cover of the chosen pastiche, the author's name, year published, and the essay's contributor. The template, a thorough fixture throughout, concisely provides the “book facts”, “author facts”, “beyond the facts”, and “fun facts”. 

With over 29 of these essays related to works published in the 2000s, this book won't likely be pigeon-holed as a “bunch of old book talk”, complaints often made from new readers when when discussing a Golden Age of Detective Fiction character or work. Many of these books, stories, comics, manga, and television tie-in novels are contemporary ideas that possess the spirit and culture of this iconic character.  

Separating the parts are introspective Intermissions that focus on things like publishing, collecting, and illustrating Sherlock Holmes. In one of these Intermissions, “An Imperfect Hero: My Life, My Disability, and Sherlock Holmes”, contributor Amy Thomas discusses her permanent disability and how she uses Holmes as a positive coping mechanism. She has authored at least three pastiche novels featuring what she describes as an “...iconoclastic, self-directed character...” 

The book's hardcover edition features an additional set of essays about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original Holmes stories and novels. This edition also includes bonus essays that examine the character in international fiction, the female gender, and an interesting commentary on race relations.

With an unmatched awareness, intimacy, and expertise, Paul Bishop's Sherlockian cyclopedia is a must-own. If you are a fan of crime-fiction, detection, classic literature, and of course, the iconic sleuth himself, then 52 Weeks 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels is the next essential part of your book collection. Get it HERE. 

Free Audiobook - Guns Drawn by Thomas Hyland

It's a book premier right here on Paperback Warrior! I narrate the new 75-page novella Guns Drawn by Thomas Hyland, a violent, tightly-knit character piece involving bad guys, sexy women, gunplay, and bloodshed. It's a stylish 1950ish potboiler...and it's free for you.

SYNOPSIS:

Daisy Mae married mob accountant Abner Little to escape the wrong side of the tracks. Her escape turned into a short-cut to Hell. Abner prefers other women. He rubs it in her face. So Daisy opens her heart to handsome Dwayne Duncan, who agrees to kill Abner for her. Has Daisy Mae gone from the frying pan to the fire?

Dwayne Duncan turns out may have some baggage of his own. Dwayne is  right hand man to big shot Harvey Bishop, Abner's boss. Dwayne decides to frame Abner and one of his girlfriends.

 Easy peasy, right? Abner's girlfriend is seeing the boss' volatile son Flynn. Simple goes out the door. As Dwayne connives, Bishop dies creating a power vacuum that turns the city into a bloodbath.

C'est la vie. 

Stream below via YouTube, listen on any streaming platform, or download HERE.

Paperback Warrior Primer - William P. McGivern

William P. McGivern was a successful pulp writer that specialized in crime-fiction, mystery, and science-fiction. He was also an accomplished novelist that found his fortune in the early 1950s as the original paperback novel concept became a marketing triumph. He also wrote screenplays for Hollywood and partnered with his wife to write a number of novels and non-fiction travel logs. We've covered his life and literary work on Episode 59 of the podcast (HERE) but wanted to offer an easy-to-read primer on his life and literary work.

William was born in Chicago in 1922 but at a young age, his family moved to Mobile, Alabama where he was raised. His father was a farmer and his mother was employed as a dress-maker. Despite dropping out of high school, William loved to read as a teenager. His favorite authors were Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner. 

Like a lot of the authors we cover here at PW, William joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and rose to the rank of Line Sergeant. At one point he was aboard a tanker that was being bombed. Exercising quick thinking, William opened the valves and released the explosive gas from the tanker saving the crew who were trapped aboard. For that courageous feat, William received the prestigious Soldier’s Medal and honorably left the Army in 1946. At some point after his military career he enrolled in studies at the University of Birmingham in England. 

Returning to the U.S., William was employed for the Pullman Company, a manufacture of locomotive rail cars. Later, he earned a position as a police reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer, which touched off his fascination with police work and police culture – a theme that ran through his 23 mystery novels. He worked as a police reporter for two years and then jumped ship to become a reporter and reviewer for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. 

He sold his first short story, “John Brown's Body”, to the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in 1940, and continued to sell short stories throughout his career to magazines including the Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, and Cosmopolitan. During the pulp magazine era, his early 1940s emphasis was on science-fiction short stories for pulps like Amazing Stories and Fantastic Adventures. Wildside Press has compiled 25 of these stories into an ebook volume (HERE). William's pulp career can be identified through a variety of pseudonyms he employed – P.F. Costello, Gerald Vance, Clee Garson, and Bill Peters.  

While William was working as a reporter he also wrote his first novel, But Death Runs Faster, published by Dodd Mead & Co. as a hardcover in 1948. When paperbacks took off in 1950, the novel was reprinted as The Whispering Corpse by Pocket. 

In 1947, McGivern married Maureen Daly, a journalist and published author. She enjoyed success with her 1942 bestseller Seventh Summer. Margaret and William collaborated on a handful of non-genre books throughout their lives, including a non-fiction book about their world travels.

During the second half of the 1940s, it is evident that William's passion for storytelling transformed into crime-fiction and mysteries. His pulp output transitioned from galaxies far, far way to that of inner-city racketeering and the hardboiled detectives destined to stop them. He wrote over 20 crime-fiction stories for pulps like Mammoth Detective, Mammoth Mystery, F.B.I. Detective Stories, and Dime Detective. He also sprinkled in some western stories as well for Mammoth Western. 

As the paperback original became the biggest publishing enterprise, William was there to cash in. Beginning in 1950, he wrote at least one novel every year through 1963. Five of those novels, Shield for Murder, The Big Heat, Rogue Cop, The Darkest Hour, and Odds Against Tomorrow, were all adapted to film. Over the course of his career, William saw 14 of his 23 novels adapted to screen. 

As I alluded to earlier, we have covered a great deal of William's literary work. Here are some of our descriptions of the books we've sampled:

Rogue Cop (1954) - More than just a kick-ass tale of cops and crooks. It’s also a story of a man fighting for his own redemption - both professionally and spiritually. There’s a lot going on in this short novel, and it’s way smarter than most genre paperbacks.

Odds Against Tomorrow (1957) - Fans of heist paperbacks would rightly cite Lionel White and Donald Westlake as the high-water marks in the genre. The book doesn’t quite reach those heights, but it’s a worthwhile effort and a fun ride. Recommended.

Killer on the Turnpike (1961) - A fun way to kill some time with an old, crumbling paperback. Don’t spend a fortune on it, and you won’t be let down. Recommended.

Night Extra (1957) - It doesn’t reinvent the hardboiled formula, but the author certainly showcases his talents and strengths in perfecting it. This was a fast-paced narrative with some touching characters in which readers will invest.

In the early 1960s, William moved to Los Angeles to write for film and television. His credits include the TV series Ben Casey, Adam-12, and Kojak. While it was a cinematic disappointment, William is also credited for writing the screenplay for The Wrecking Crew, a film loosely based on the Matt Helm installment by Donald Hamilton.  

William continued writing novels throughout the 1960s. His books began to take on international settings as the author and his wife became seasoned travelers. His last crime novel was Night of the Juggler, published in 1975.  

After finding a robust career in California, the couple stayed there until William died from cancer in 1982 in Palm Desert. 

You can get William's books HERE.

Savages

Like many of Greg F. Gifune's books, Savages originally began publication life with a small publisher, Sinister Grin Press, in 2016. Beginning in 2022, Savages was reprinted in both physical and digital editions by Cemetery Dance Publications. 

There's something to be said about islands in horror fiction. Richard Laymon played with the idea in his 1995 slasher bloodbath Island. Brian Keene did it twice – once in 2009 with Castaways and again in 2023 with the aptly titled Island of the Dead. The idea certainly isn't a new one, not even for those guys. H.G. Wells created the ultimate island literary luau with his terrifying classic The Island of Dr. Moreau. So, it was just a matter of time before a horror mastermind like Greg F. Gifune (Judas Goat, Oasis of the Damned) took his shot at this little subgenre of horror.

A man named Dallas awakens on a sandy beach. With blurred memories, he recalls that he and his wife Quinn, along with several friends, chartered a yacht to take them out into the Pacific ocean. The captain unfortunately ran aground on some reefs and the ship sunk. Eight people were able to get away on a raft and they drifted at sea, in and out of consciousness, for three days and nights. They saw no signs of land, no planes, and no rescue ships. Dallas, thinking he had died, is astounded that he has somehow washed ashore on a beach....somewhere.

Dallas is able to reunite with his wife and a few of their surviving friends. One of their pals is a guy named Gino, one of those survivor-type prepper dudes that shops at REI every weekend. He explores their tiny island initially and determines it's a few square miles with nothing but thick jungles and a small lagoon. He also positively believes this island isn't on any major maps and that help will never arrive. Mr. Positive. 

The book begins with the typical survivor stuff – gathering supplies, finding water, creating little factions. As if things couldn't possibly become worse, the group stumbles on a severed arm that may have been attached to one of their friends from the boat. Also, it appears from a blood trail in the trampled foliage that a body was dragged. Soon the group discover an old Japanese military base. Gifune's description of this dilapidated base with three or four crumbling buildings is just so atmospheric. He sets the tone and mood by describing the jungle seemingly eating up these abandoned buildings. Inside, the survivors find hospital beds and medical supplies along with some really bizarre evidence that something supernatural occurred here. Then the killings begin. And the slaughter. And deadly things that live in an underground tunnel system on the island. 

Savages is like a popcorn horror flick with disposable characters being mauled by a supernatural killer. The author's smooth prose and propulsive action sequences drive the narrative into a frenzied kill-or-be-killed story saturated in blood and guts. Gifune may be one of my favorite horror storytellers in terms of combining quick character development, a suffocating atmosphere (usually with weather-related phenomenon) and a supercharged panic that seemingly lives and breathes in the character's behavior and dialogue. The exotic locale, brutal killings, and macabre infrastructure of this horrifying research facility elevate the book into an extremely entertaining read. Like Gifune's Oasis of the Damned, Savages is survival horror at its finest. Highest recommendation. Get it HERE.

Cold Hazard (aka Danger Rock)

Richard Armstrong (1903-1986) was a British novelist that wrote adult and young-adult fiction that mostly centered around nautical adventure. He sailed for 17 years in the Merchant Service so his writing contains a great deal of validity. That experience shines through with his 1955 British novel Danger Rock. It was published in the U.S. under the title Cold Hazard.

This 200-page book begins by introducing the protagonist, 18-year old ship apprentice Jim Naylor. He's in charge of a large shipping trawler when it crashes into a floating iceberg. As the ship sinks into the frosty Atlantic, the crew begins to divvy out lifeboats. In the commotion of clearing the decks Jim and four other apprentices are left behind. They manage to get a small craft off and begin a perilous float for survival.

Jim and his fellow apprentices float overnight and eventually find a large island somewhere near Newfoundland. But, this island is nearly drowning in fog and seems to possess no life whatsoever. Saturated in cold mist, razor sharp rocks, and a harsh terrain, it is the last place on Earth the tiny crew wants to beach. But, with no other options available they push their tiny craft onto the rocks and begin weeks of intense struggle that test their endurance and internal fortitude. 

I really enjoy a good shipwreck story and Armstrong's writing is brimming over with atmosphere and desperation. These young men fear that death is within reach as they lay out their meager supply of food and water. Doom and gloom settles in when the group begins to argue politically on who's in charge and what awaits them. Jim's nemesis is a younger man named Pipworthy, a selfish guy who seemingly steals from every man. Over the course of weeks the small group must forage for supplies, build shelter, and create a crafty beacon system to alert any passing ships. 

Like Robb White, Frank Bonham, and Arthur Catherall, Richard Armstrong proves he can write with the best of them. While this book is geared for young adults, there are technical nuances and adult decisions foisted on the group as they strive to survive their Hellish predicament. This was also a mid-career book for Armstrong and I feel like the writing and prose shows him at the peak of his writing career. Highly recommended. Get the book HERE.

Uptown Shopping

Eric visits a two-story store filled with comics, vintage hardcovers, CDs, magazines, and old maps. He shares highlights from his big shopping trip, showcasing paperback book covers and sharing publication histories, fun facts, and insights about obscure authors. It's an informative and entertaining recap for book lovers. Stream below or watch on the YouTube channel HERE.

Paperback Warrior Primer - Sydney Horler

Depending who you talk with Sydney Horler (1888-1954) was historically good, average, or just a plain 'ole hack. He wrote 150 novels - at least - and countless stories and columns. He's known for a variety of spy and crime-fiction series titles like The Ace, Sir Mark Bellamy, Brett Carstairs, Bunny Chipstead, Sir Brian Fordinghame, Gerald Lissendale, Chief Constable Meatyard, Nighthawk, Sebastian Quin, Peter Scarlett, Tiger Standish, Baron Veseloffsky, Paul Vivanti, and Robert Wynnton. He also wrote horror and non-fiction books over the course of his prolific writing career. We offered a podcast episode about his life and literature HERE.

Sydney Horler was born in England in 1888. He was educated at Redcliffe and Colston Schools in Bristol and began professional writing in Fleet Street, first on the the Western Daily Press and on Daily Mail chronicling junior reporting assignments like police courts, inquests, and chapel meetings. He served in Air Intelligence in the propaganda section during World War I. After the war he was hired as sub-editor for John 'O London's Weekly before his employment was terminated in 1919. 

He became a novelist around 1915 with his first book being a western titled Standish of the Rangeland (1916). He didn't find success with the western and left that genre behind. It was during this time that Horler went to the short story market, used a pseudonym of J.O. Standish, and wrote a serial starring a character named Rex Harley called The Lightning Left. It ran from November 1919 through February 1920 in the pages of The Boys Realm. I wasn't able to obtain any info on this serial or character. I find it interesting that he used the pseudonym of Standish which was his western hero in his first book. He will use that name again with a future spy series. Before the year 1920 Holter had penned an additional 24 short stories for British magazines like Short Stories Illustrated, Chums, and The Grand Magazine. 

In the novel market, Horler followed Standish of the Rangeland with sports books like Goal! A Romance of the English Cup Ties, originally published in magazine form first. He wrote a crime novel called The Breed of the Beverleys in 1921. In a nonfiction book called London's Underworld, there is a newspaper article written by A.E Wilson from The Star serving as an introduction. In it, Wilson, who was friends with Horler from an early age, said, quote, "He progressed from boy's fiction to football fiction and from football fiction to the thriller." He also goes on to say, "It was only a few years ago that Edgar Wallace said to me very seriously: That fellow Horler is going to be a dangerous rival." Wilson continues and states that if Wallace lived it would have been interesting to watch the race in output and popularity.

Throughout Horler's career he is often described as being similar to Edgar Wallace. 

His writing career caught fire in 1925 with the crime novel book The Mystery of No. 1. It was published in the US as The Order of the Octopus and ran in the pages of Top-Notch Magazine in 1926. It is the first novel in a series that Horler launched launched starring a British Evil Genius named Paul Vinanti. In The Mystery of No. 1 Vivanti creates a villain supergroup called The Order of the Octopus with contains a Chinese man, a Count of Central Europe, and a woman described as extremely dangers and desired. Vivanti does all of the things that traditional villains do while attempting to build a criminal enterprise. Through the course of the series a British intelligence agent named Peter Foyle, who is also a statesman's nephew, is there to nix Vivanti's plans. The six Vivanti books were published from 1925 through 1945 and were the aforementioned The Mystery of No. 1, then Vivanti, The Worst Man in the World, Vivanti Returns, Lord of Terror, and Virux X. The series gets rave reviews while others seem to think it is just an average pulpy series of novels with cheap thrills. According to my sources the character also appears in at least one of three stories published as The Man Who Shook the Earth in 1933, an anthology of three stories. He also appeared in another of Horler's short story collections called The Screaming Skull, and Other Stories. The series can be described as a mixture of occult and super-science. 

Since he had luck in 1925 with a series, Horler decided to immediately write another. This one only lasted two books, False-Face in 1926 and Miss Mystery in 1928. Once again, the series stars a villain, a Russian secret agent named Baron Veseloffsky and the obligatory British secret agent as his foe, a guy named Sir Brian Fordinghame in the series debut. 

Horler liked the hero Sir Brian Fordinghame so he spun off of this series another three books featuring the character - The Murder Mask, High Stakes, and The Prince of Plunder. The four-book Brian Fordinghame series altogether features those books plus False-Face. Technically, this series can be labeled as published between 1913 and 1932.

Another character debuted in 1927 - Bunny Chipstead. He's a freelance British Secret Service agent which means he can choose which assignments he wants plus he can work both British and American assignments. There were four of these books running from 1927 through 1940 - In the Dark, Chipstead of the Lone Hand, The Secret Agent, and The Enemy within the Gates. 

Next was the Sebastian Quin series (not to be confused with popular author Seabury Quinn). Now Sebastian Quin appeared in three stories in 1925-1930. He is described as an occult detective, an enthusiast of the bizarre who has devoted his life to the study of crime in its most exotic and weird manifestations. He can Speak Chinese and another 17 foreign languages. What is interesting about him is that he isn't necessarily looking to stop a crime. He wants to learn what prompted the outrage to commit the crime. His assistant is a man named Martin Huish. The three story appearances exist but this character was the star of his own two-book series. The first novel was The Evil Messenger from 1938, followed by Fear Walked Behind in 1942. There is also a short story collection called The House in Greek Street that has a Sebastian Quin story reprinted from the magazines.

We're still in the 1920s and Horler is creating characters and series titles, but still filling the void with stand alone sports novels. From my research I counted eight sports novels between 1920 to 1926. Continuing in 1926 was another mystery or crime fiction novel called House of Secrets concerning an inheritance. This is followed by more stand alone mystery novels like The Black Heart, The Fellow Hagan, The 13th Hour, Heart Cut Diamond, and Lady of the Night to finish out the 20s. He also used pseudonyms like Martin Heritage and Peter Cavendish this decade. Horler wrote 137 short stories in the 1920s for all kinds of magazines and pulps. There were also recurring characters in some of these stories like a sports team called Sportsman's Club. 

Switching to a different series, Horler did start one more series in 1928 that was a tremendous success that launched a small empire for him. 

Harker Bellamy is a British spymaster, a Secret Service Chief in an intelligence organization called Q One. This is important because Bellamy runs the place and has agents that directly work for him. He is introduced for the first time in 1928 in a book called The Curse of Doone. In this one, Bellamy is on the case of a kidnapped woman by an orphan. He assigns the case to a Q One agent named Ian Heath. There is a sense of supernatural, like many of Holter's novels, when the house the woman is held at may be haunted and may in fact contain a vampire. In the third book, Bellamy calls upon one of his best agents, a man named Tiger Standish. As of book three of the Bellamy series it is all Tiger Standish through book 10. The series ran 1928-1948. So, you can theoretically take all 11 books and call them the Harker Bellamy series just like you could take all the Matt Helm books and call them the Mac series - Mac being Helm's boss. However, the Tiger Standish character continues to show up in other books too from 1936 to 1951. Books like Exit the Disguiser, They Thought He Was Dead, The House of Jackals, and Tiger Standish Does His Stuff. He's also in some short stories as well. I find it strange that the author had such a fixture on the name Standish. His first book was a cowboy named Standish, then he used that same name as a pseudonym and now his most popular spy is the same name.

The Nighthawk series began in 1937 and consisted of the books They Called Him Nighthawk, The Return of Nighthawk, Nighthawk Strikes to Kill, Nighthawk Mops Up, Ring Up Nighthawk, Nap on Nighthawk, and Nighthawk Swears Vengeance. This character is named Gerald Frost and he is a professional burglar. He is described by characters in the books as having the law unto himself. He robs crooks, taking on cases which the police have been powerless to touch. For example, The Return of Nighthawk has him defending a friend of his - a doctor - from a crook named Marius who employs a network of crooks to help him swindle innocent people across London. The theme of the series is a thief of thieves. 

Also in 1931 was a two-book series starring Brett Carstairs. He was in The Man Who Walked with Death and The Spy. He's a British secret agent that portrays a wealthy upperclassman to disguise his secret missions against the Soviets. 

Again, just like the 1920s, Holter is filling holes between his series installments all through the 1930s. Stand-alone books in the 1930s add up to 35-38 books in addition to all of those series installments. By this point Horler has sold over 2 million books. Between the years 1925 and 1953 Horley never published fewer than three books of fiction in any year. Three books a year was actually a slow year for him, he only sank to that level in 1940 due to the Blitz in England during WWII. In 1931 he produced 7 novels, a book of short stories, and in 1951 he wrote 10 novels. 

He had been quoted as saying he dictated 25,000 words which is about 100 pages every single week. Horler was a prolific author and he sold well through the 1920s, 1930s, and even into the 1940s. His publishers would include "Horler for Excitement" on his books as the marketing slogan.

Beginning in 1941 there was The Ace series starring a British secret agent named Justin March working for an organization named Y.2. There were three books total with Enter the Ace in 1941, Hell's Brew in 1952, and The Dark Night in 1953. 

According to his 1934 autobiographical book London's Underworld, Holter says that in the prime of his career he received a phone call from The Star asking him to briefly switch from a full-time novelist to a part-time journalist. The assignment was to submerge himself into the underworld for a full month. Here is what they told him, according to Horler's book: 

"We want you to meet the people who live in, and practice their crafts through, the Underworld. We want you to talk to them and get their viewpoint, describe their habits, characteristics, their methods of working - in short - to deliver us a clear and composite picture of this section of humanity which we know actually does exist but of which 99 persons out of every hundred are in complete ignorance. This gentleman, indicating He Who Had Remained Nameless, will act as a guide to begin with. After that it will be up to you."

I haven't read this book but I looked at the chapter list at the beginning of the book and you can kind of see where the author spent time at. He wined, dined, interviewed, traveled with, and entertained thieves, prostitutes, white slavers, blackmailers, the real soho, dope traffickers, and police on the take. In flipping through the book it is all done in a humorous way.

Horler also wrote screenplays as well. There are four films listed on IMDB with his name attached to them. 

Horler's political views have often come under fire. He often expressed contempt in his writing of non-British peoples. Malcolm Turnbull noted that Horler's novels regularly depict Jews as criminals. Horler's book Nighthawk Mops Up has a Jewish villain who collaborates with the Nazis. Odd. Horler was outspoken and said Americans were absurd, Italians smelly, French dishonest, and the Swiss had wooden faces. 

Horler had an ongoing feud or squabble with British crime-fiction writer Dorothy L. Sayers, who immensely disliked his work. The same can be said for Scottish writer Compton MacKenzie. 

Horler suffered a stroke in August of 1954. He then entered Bournemouth nursing home and would pass away on October 27th  at age 66.

To give you an idea how abrasive Horler was, when he died the Daily Express announced his death by stating "HORLER KILLED EVERY WAY THERE IS!" 

You can get Sydney Horler books HERE.